I confess, I laughed at the comments about “making jam in this heat” from Monday’s post. So, true confession time…. I do not go to a Raspberry Farm and pick buckets of berries. I head to my back yard and pick berries from 6-ish plants. I am lucky if I get a cup of berries a day. This translates to “uber small batch jam making” and I am going to let you all in on a HUGE secret…I use the easiest raspberry jam recipe on earth. No standing at the stove cooking berries, no pectin (yes, really… no pectin at all), and no water bath steaming up the house. And, before 8 AM, I my day of “jam making” is done. The jam has been transferred to jars and waiting to head to the freezer. It will keep beautifully for a year (maybe longer, but it honestly does not last that long around here!)
Other making this week included a seersucker, pocketless Uniform Tunic and an Esme Tunic! (Today’s sewing will include another uniform top!) One might think that remaking the same few things over and over and over again gets boring but, in reality, it is quite the opposite! I find that I must think less about the “how” and can think more about the subtle changes! This time the Esme pockets have merged into the side seam completely and I love this little change! It gives the pocket and the garment a little more structure if you are going to use the pockets! Also, the Grainline Studio sleeve hack worked well on this Esme Tunic! In the Uniform Tunic as I began to work with the very lightweight seersucker fabric, I realized that pockets would not work at all and would add weight to the top and change the drape of the fabric. So… no pockets. If I had never made either of these patterns before I don’t think I would have felt okay with making these changes! I will try and get pictures to share on Friday.
My Romi-is-a-freaking-genius sweater has departed the “puzzle stage” and has suddenly morphed into a sweater! It still does not look like much, but I hope to have something to show you on Friday as well!
AND!! I started the heel on my Non-Eucludian socks! Waahoo!
Now, how about some reading awesomeness?!?
My Cover All is Complete!
I finished strong with War and Peace and Purple Hibiscus!
I loved War and Peace. It was so good. The thing that struck me most profoundly was the dichotomy between the lives of those serving in the war and those not serving in the war. Life and Death versus Life of Frivolity – on steroids! Also, I had no clue that Freemasonry was a thing in Russia. There was not one moment in all the 60+ hours of listening that I was bored or wanted to listen to something else – it was truly a pleasure to be immersed in this book! If you want to up your classic game this fall, I highly recommend this one!
Purple Hibiscus filled the “book I own” square and as such I read it slowly. It is a beautiful written story – I dearly loved Kambili. It is a story of growing up, family, and freedom. I highly recommend!
I also listened to Ruth Reichl read Save Me the Plums… so so good. Ruth is a brilliant memoir writer and I devoured this book about her time at Gourmet magazine. I highly recommend listening to Ruth tell you her story!
Finally, I also devoured The Nickel Boys and loved it! Colson Whitehead is a brilliant writer and this story gripped me from the first sentence to the last. Colson again shows me how little I know… truly how pitifully little I know. If you have not read this book – you should! And, to make that easier – if you leave me a comment today saying that you’d like to read The Nickel Boys – I will “pay it forward” as Juliann sent me her copy so I could read sooner than the library waitlist. I will pick a name next Monday and get the book off in the mail to you!
And, there you have my unraveling, but I want to know… what are you excited about today?
As always, if you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
I am in awe that you finished War and Peace — and in a reasonable period of time!! I tried to read it a couple of years ago and didn’t finish. Maybe audio is the way to go? I also want to read Nickel Boys, but don’t add me to your giveaway because I have it in a library stack right now!
I can’t wait to see your finished sweater and your sewing projects!
So many glowing reviews! I would like to read War & Peace one day, but I think I’ll have to wait until I’m on vacation and have more time to listen (and I think I’d do better listening than trying to read it). I’m still working my way through Middlemarch and hoping I can at least finish it before the end of Summer Book Bingo; I’m at about 30%, but it’s slow going.
Nickel Boys is on my library wait list, but I’m okay waiting for it — there are other things ahead of it!
Congratulations on the cover-all and all the making! I don’t think that making and re-making the same thing is boring at all; each one really is different and you are farther up the learning curve. I’m looking forward to pictures!
Congratulations on your cover-all and all your sewing! Wow!! I am looking forward to pictures of everything. Thanks for the link to the jam recipe too. That has got to be the easiest one ever!!
Congratulations on your coverall! War & Peace brings back many good memories. I read it several years ago with my father, we were both working at the time and so it was a slow read. We would get together for coffee once a week and discuss it. It was a great book, but I will always love it because of my Dad.
I have been in a rut as far as making goes, so I find all that you do inspiring!
I’m a relatively new reader of your blog, and I enjoy it very much. We have similar interests: knitting, sewing, gardening, reading. I would love to be entered in the drawing for the Nickel Boys.
I am SO HAPPY to be back with you and your blog! I took my two Esme tunics and v-neck uniform to Bristol. I wore them a LOT … mine aren’t even that different – except for the fabrics and length. I think it’s wonderful to have a few go-to patterns and get really comfortable with them. That’s the beauty of a uniform, right?! HUGE CONGRATS on your coverall … I think I’m going to manage one myself … which seems crazy since I wasn’t even planning to DO book bingo at the beginning of May. so YAY for summer reading. and amazing books. xo.
look at you achieving your reading summer goals!! Congrats! I made jam once and it was ‘okay’. Luckily my dad loves to make all kinds of jams and he gives me some 🙂 Love the socks but you already know that!
Your sewing as always sounds inspiring. I look forward to seeing the finished garments. And that jam recipe just might be the easiest jam recipe ever. Thanks for the link.
You Go Girl! You were on a roll this past week! Whoa! Thanks for clarifying the jam making—still amazes me. And super congrats on your cover all, War and Peace notwithstanding. That alone should count for 3 books, eh?
What’s up next?
Cheers~
Congrats on the blackout bingo! What an accomplishment! I added Nickel Boys to my list–I might get it on Audible since I have a credit.
Wow, you have been busy! I am on the waitlist at my library for the audio book of War and Peace. My book group read The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and I so enjoyed it. The premise was unique and his writing was a treat to read. I would love a copy of The Nickel Boys. Thank you for this generous offer; if I am selected I will pass it on!